


I've Got No Use for Moonlight or Sappy Poetry

by toomanyotpstofunction



Series: Written in the Stars [1]
Category: Voltron - Fandom, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Keith has a prosthetic leg because I can, Keith has some deep seeded issues, M/M, Sheith Big Bang 2017, Shiro is a big sweetheart and I love him, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, yes this is a day late but i tried
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-18
Updated: 2017-09-18
Packaged: 2018-12-31 10:25:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12130440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toomanyotpstofunction/pseuds/toomanyotpstofunction
Summary: Keith had never wanted to find his soulmate, he never wanted to experience the pain that came with loosing his soulmate. But he never had the best of luck, so when his soulmate turns out to be Shiro, he panics.





	I've Got No Use for Moonlight or Sappy Poetry

**Author's Note:**

> This is my contribution for the Sheith bigbang. My lovely artist can be found on tumblr under the username tsuyers (who is the best for putting up with my unreliable life and me just being a mess in general).  
> This has been a long process and I've had a lot happen during the course of writing it, a lot of family things and personal things that have happened that have interferred with the completion of this fic. Overall I'm pretty content with how it turned out, but I may come back to this and make some edits.  
> I hope you enjoy!

When Keith was a kid he never understood why his dad was a disaster when his mom left. He didn’t understand the heart wrenching agony that came with losing a soulmate, sure he’d heard that losing your soulmate could make you go insane, that some people killed themselves after their soulmates had left them or died but he never thought that would affect him, not until he was being picked up from school by family services on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. Not until they told him his Dad had killed himself. That was when Keith learned to fear the mark he was born with, learned to hate it. Hate everything that was associated with it. When he buried his Father he swore he would never meet his soulmate. He never wanted to be as sad, as hollow, as anguished as his Father was. He never wanted to feel that pain, never wanted to inflict it on someone else.

 

As Keith grew older he realized that it was almost guaranteed that he would meet the person that would be his other half, so he swore he would never show his mark. It was easy enough to keep hidden, he was lucky that he wasn’t someone who had his mark on the back of his neck or on the palm of his hand. If nobody saw it then nobody would be able to shatter him. It was a lonely existence, but it was one he was willing to live. He would rather be alone then in agony after all. 

 

The small town he grew up with  felt stifling after his father's death, the buildings that lined the streets around him often made him feel like the world was closing in on him.The first chance he got, he was out and living hundreds of miles away in San Francisco, where he would remain to attend college, where he planned to stay and remain an anonymous face on the streets.  Then the world went to shit, the economy collapsed and the environment just deteriorated. The earth was uninhabitable and the production of colonies in space was increased and sped up. Within 2 years the earth was nothing but a shell of crumbling dust and the remains of dead animals (and people) who didn’t survive. Life on the colonies was what was to be expected really. The Aliens though, that was a surprise. Keith took it in stride, San Francisco was an eclectic mix of people so Aliens didn’t faze Keith. Others took some time in accepting their existence and respecting it, but now that had pretty much settled down. There was some makeshift kind of government put in place that eventually solidified and acted like a UN type thing and included Alien races. So far they managed to live peacefully with little to no conflict.  

 

A prerequisite of entering the colony as a resident was a blood test and when it came out that Keith had Galra and Altean blood running through him, it was quite a shock. But Keith had bigger things to worry about than his heritage. It did bring to question the idea that Humans could have soulmates that were Alien though. It was an interesting thought and a quick study showed that while  it was a traditionally human trait to have a soulmark, there were a few aliens who had soulmarks that matched a human counterpart. Keith didn’t really care that he had sparked a whole new generation of soulmates and soulmarks, all he cared about was surviving and making enough to keep food on his table.

 

His morning didn’t start until he had at least 2 cups of coffee, a habit he picked up from his Grandfather, but today Keith was running late. Knowing there was no time to make coffee he settled for stopping somewhere along the way. The coffee on the Altean Colony was nowhere near what he remembered from his days on earth, but the caffeine content was the same. Sugar was a luxury he couldn’t afford with his scavengers payment, and besides they didn’t even offer it at the little coffee shops on the colony. He could use the sugar replacement they offered, but it was extra and tasted like chemicals. Keith decided it was better to save money seeing as he made barely enough to eat and rent a room out. So he, like most people now a days, drank his coffee black.  

Rushing to get to the hangar on time Keith rushes a quick wave to Lance, one of his only friends on the colony. Lance worked at the coffee shop. The two had a rough start when Lance made a rude comment about Keith’s alien genetics but after Pidge (Keith’s part time roommate and full time honorary sibling) lectured Lance for 2 hours and he apologized, they formed a strong friendship. Lance was the only person who had ever seen Keith’s soulmark and heard the story about why Keith kept it hidden all the time. They were close and that was something Keith didn’t take for granted, he appreciated having a friend like Lance around. Someone that he knew he could always count on, it was a nice change from the lonely existence he had on earth. 

After a mad dash through the streets while ducking around people and stands, Keith made it to the hangar with 30 seconds to spare, and quickly put on his scavenger gear and hopped into the usual shuttle. With a quick briefing, he was off to search Earth for anything left behind. The most valuable things he found were to be turned over, if it was found out that any of the scavengers were holding back and precious gems or metals they would lose their job and be kicked off the colony. Keith got paid based on how much he brought back, obviously he chose the more once-filled-with-wealthy-people sectors and often times had good luck finding jewelry. The job was lonely but he liked it that way, gave him time to be by himself, let him mull things over or just give him some rare silence. It was a reprieve from all the bumble and bustle of the colony. 

Keith approached a decrepit building with caution, learning from prior mistakes that cost him his leg. On a mission a few years back Keith was careless in his work and often threw himself head first into situations without thinking of the repercussions. He was rooting through an old building and wasn’t paying attention the building. The building collapsed and a large concrete beam fell on his leg damaging it beyond repair and severing it at mid thigh. Keith was lucky to survive. The prosthetic he had was mediocre at best, and often locked up (Keith spent a good portion of his pay on oil to keep his “joints” from locking up). So he was more cautious when scaling buildings and climbing onto terraces, but the recklessness he would probably always possess, stayed. 

Finding little beyond a few necklaces and rings, Keith began searching for things for his friends. He found a few little pieces of old tech for Pidge including an old iphone X and a prototype hologram projector, some old recipe books for Hunk, some pretty costume jewelry for Allura, and CDs for Lance. Keith picked up books for Shiro on any subject really, Shiro wasn’t too picky but Keith noticed that Shiro had an affinity for trashy thriller romance novels, which were often found in large quantities on the book shelves of the once wealthy wives who all too often found their lives to be boring and monotonous. 

Sometimes Keith got lucky and found art supplies lying around, usually in teenagers bed rooms. Anything from pastels to oil paints, Keith would hoard. The charcoals and pencils that he found got the most use though as he went through them quickly. It was his secret passion, only the people who frequented his room knew about it (Pidge and Lance mainly). His walls were covered in sketches and drawings of people on the base and those who were just passing through. The pictures he drew made him feel more human, for a lack of a better term, and less like just another cog in the machine. His hands were often covered in charcoal and lead but generally people assumed it was grease due to him spending his spare time fixing up ships with Hunk to earn a little bit more cash. 

This time he found a few drawing pens, a couple of pencils, and a nearly empty sketchbook. All of which he shoved into his bag, before quickly scanning the rest of the house for anything of value.

 

Sometimes when Keith got tired of being alone with his thoughts he pondered the lives of those who had fled in such a hurry. When the world fell into ruin everybody was ushered off planet before there was no breathable air left at all. The richest and most influential were able to leave first and those unfortunate enough to get stuck behind often didn’t last when they reached the colony, having inhaled harmful chemicals and gases. Keith was one of the lucky ones who was unaffected by the toxic air, his grandparents weren’t as lucky.  Now as a precaution whenever he went planetside  Keith had to wear a helmet that filtered out the chemicals in the atmosphere

Back on the colony his friends were waiting for him with open arms and wide smiles, all except Shiro. This was the norm, his friends were always there to greet him when he returned and when Shiro was on the colony he would join them. Currently Shiro was off on a mission to scout out new planets to see if they could be inhabitable for humans. 

 

“Keith! How was your trip?” Allura greeted around a hug as Pidge beamed from over her shoulder. Lance and Hunk were in an enthusiastic conversation with Matt and Coran over whether or not Alteans lived longer than humans. Matt was trying to figure out the different measurements and how they translated to years. So far the general consensus was that they had similar life spans. 

“It was fine, didn’t lose any limbs this time so that's always a plus” Keith deadpanned, before quickly cracking and chuckling into Alluras neck. 

 

“You know I hate when you make jokes about that” Allura frowned as she held Keith at arms length, still holding his shoulders. 

“‘Lura don’t fret so much, you can’t take life too seriously otherwise you’ll end up cynical.”

“Keith you’re the most cynical person I know!” Pidge chimed in, drawing the attention of the others.

“Keith? Cynical? Never!” Lance yelled, sarcasm heavily laced in every word.

 

“Keep the sass up and I won’t give you, your gifts.” 

 

“Sorry Keith!” 

“Mmm, thought so.” Turning to Matt Keith asked the question that had been bothering him since he landed. “Hey Matt, any word from Shiro?” 

“Yeah he said everything is going smoothly and he should be back on schedule,” Matt replied a knowing look crossing his features. Keith ducked his head to hide a small smile. 

“Thanks” 

“Hey Keith, do you think you’d let me look at your leg to see if I can help with the joints locking up again?” Hunk asked concern painting his features when he realized Keith was favoring his non robotic leg. 

“Of course, but I don’t know what good it will do, you just fixed it last week. I don’t think this model is going to last much longer.”

“Do you ever think that maybe you should take Shiro up on his offer of getting you an upgrade?”

“I’m not some charity case for Shiro to sink his teeth into Hunk, I won’t let him treat me as such,” Keith sighed, an old argument that he was tired of having. 

“Shiro doesn’t think of you as a charity case, Keith” Pidge chimed in, quickly followed by a chorus of agreements from the rest of the group. 

Keith sighed.

“I know guys, but I feel like one every time he offers...I don’t like feeling that way.” 

Keith made a hasty retreat to his debriefing and collected his payment, rejoining his friends he began handing out gifts to his friends. Everyone was grateful and content, but they noticed how Keith lingered on the books for Shiro. Shiro would be returning tomorrow and Keith would be glad to pass off the stack of books that had accumulated over the course of 3 weeks. Shiro would be back for a day and then he would leave again, this time with Keith in tow. They were scheduled to check out a place in South America that hadn’t been cleared yet for scavengers. Keith was tagging along to give an insight to whether or not the structures were safe, a perk of being the best of the scavengers despite his missing leg. 

Keith was happy to be going with Shiro, but it meant he wouldn’t be able to draw for a few days. There wasn’t anything stopping him really beyond the fact that drawing was his secret, something he kept to himself. But it would still suck, especially because Shiro was his favorite subject to draw. Everything about him was a work of art, from his prosthetic to the scar on his nose. His face and various other features were plastered on Keith’s wall. He had multiple notebooks that were filled with sketches of his hands, the dimple he got when he frowned in concentration, and the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled. (Keith didn’t like to examine that too closely, choosing to ignore it in favor of denying everything. On the other hand if you were to ask Keith the Holts definitely read too far into it.) 

\---

_ Shiro walked off the recently landed ship and Keith was struck with the urge to draw him instantly. He craved to put him down on paper, but he knew he’d never be able to do him justice. The way his hair fell over his forehead, the look his eyes held, like they knew every secret the universe had to offer and had seen tragedy but still had hope. He was breathtaking and Keith ached. Upon a secondary glance Keith noticed the prosthetic arm. It didn’t seem to slow him down at all and it moved like an extension of his body instead of a hindrance. _

_ Keith was new to the colony and he had barely any free time to make friends, Pidge, Matt and Lance were the exceptions seeing as they had just inserted themselves into his life, but he was in a rush to get to work so he didn’t have time to do much other than gawk for a few seconds. Quickly shaking the image of Shiro’s smile out of his head and the tension out of his shoulders, he was off. For the rest of the day he didn’t spare the man a second thought, assuming he was just another face passing through. What he didn’t expect though was for Shiro to be in his apartment that night talking to Matt and Pidge, his sometimes roommates (when they didn’t pass out at their desks at their jobs. ) _

_ “Hey Keith, this is our friend Shiro he’s been off colony for a while so you haven’t had a chance to meet him.” Matt grinned.  _

_ “Hi Keith, nice to meet you.” Shiro said with the nicest smile Keith had ever seen. Suddenly Keith had the urge to draw him again, Keith did his best to hide the twitching of his hands.  _

_ “Nice to meet you too” Keith responded with a smile while absentmindedly scratching at his chest.   _

_ “You should join us Keith” Pidge said patting the couch next to them.  _

_ “Yeah ok just let me change and shower first, I’m a bit gross from working with Hunk.” _

_ After showering Keith spared a minute to quickly sketch out a rough design of Shiro’s face when he smiles to come back to later.  _

_ “So, Keith how did you meet Matt and Pidge?” Shiro asked when he sat back down. _

_ “Oh! Actually Pidge ran into me, literally. Full on just crashed right into me the moment I stepped onto the colony. Clearly they weren’t looking where they were going, but they literally knocked me over. I’m still not quite sure how that happened. I’m pretty dense due to my genetics but Pidge knocked me on my ass. It was an interesting way to meet someone, let me tell you.” Keith said around a laugh. Pidge giggled into their hands and leaned on Matt as they tried to catch their breath. Matt was chuckling too, but Shiro was laughing in a way that Keith found himself unable to look away from. His head was tossed back and his eyes were screwed shut and his shoulders were shaking but no noise was coming out. It was a work of art in itself.  _

_ “Matt quickly came over to help us up and apologize on Pidge’s behalf, but by that time Pidge had already apologized and we were laughing after getting over the initial shock. Lance came over and lost it at the fact that Pidge “managed to bowl over the new guy as soon as he got here” and proceeded to laugh for like 20 minutes at us. It was a quick friendship and they offered me a room in their place seeing as they rarely used it unless they actually made it home from work.” Keith finished smiling fondly at the siblings he had come to call family. _

_ “Honestly inviting Keith to share the room with us was the best thing we’ve ever done, he’s neat and he cooks food, managing to pull dishes out of nothing! It’s amazing,” Matt raved “Plus it’s nice knowing that at least someone's here while we’re gone.”   _

_ “So how’d you meet Allura, Hunk, and Coran?” Shiro questioned. _

_ “Oh, Allura and I met at the coffee shop that Lance works at. We ordered the same thing and Lance was rushing so he didn’t yell out the name and me and Allura reached for the cup at the same time. I let her have it of course but we struck up a conversation along the way, through her I met Coran. Ummm...I had heard about Hunk from everyone but he works so much I hadn’t had the chance to meet him until I went looking for another job to have a bit more money. He was under a ship when I came in and I startled him and he hit his head.” Keith explained. _

_ “You’re basically the only one Keith hadn’t met yet.” Pidge stated. “He came a few days after you left for you mission.”   _

_ “Keith...Kogane?” Shiro asked, his brow drawn together in thought. _

_ “Uhh….yeah, why?” Keith looked hard at Shiro, seeing if he missed something. _

_ “You’re the one who caused uproar when you came to the colony. The one with Galran and Altean blood. You sparked a massive research project into whether or not Aliens can have soulmarks,” Shiro said with certainty, a peculiar look in his eyes. _

_ “I know what I caused.” Keith stated not wanting to talk about his soulmark any longer.  _

_ “Shiro! Tell us about you trip!” Pidge cut in noticing the look in Keith’s eyes. _

_ After their initial meeting Keith and Shiro formed a fast friendship. They were a good pair and complimented each other well. For all of Keiths sharp edges, Shiro had a jagged one that fit perfectly. His humour was quick and dry and Keith often found himself in stitches around the other man. When they were both on the Colony they trained together. Shiro had finally found his match and Keith had found someone who actually posed a challenge (Sorry Lance). They were on par with each other, hit for hit, block for block. They began keeping track of who won each match, it was usually a tie until one was able to get lucky a few times in a row.  _

_ When Keith lost his leg Shiro was there the entire time, through the process of healing and then getting the prosthetic attached. He offered to help Keith get a better model but Keith was stubborn and refused for two reasons. 1. He was not a charity case and he refused to feel like one. 2. Shiro’s explanation of “I know a guy” was shady and no matter how much Keith trusted the man, even that was a stretch. Shiro was the one who taught him how to not let his leg hold him back, and soon they were sparring again and Keith was back to the level he was at before. (When questioned Shiro said he “never doubted that he [Keith] would be 100% again”.)  _

_ Whenever one of them left the colony without the other, their friends noticed that they seemed a bit off. They all tried their best to cheer the other up, whether it be through activities or food. It usually worked but everything was just a bit different when one wasn’t there.  _

_ It was during one of Shiro’s longer trips when Keith confided in Lance and told his story. Keith, no matter how close he and Shiro were, would always consider Lance his best friend after that night. Lance sat and listened as Keith stuttered his way through his history. He noticed when Keith’s voice got empty and when it got angry. He didn’t say anything when Keith told him he didn’t want to find his soulmate. He just sat by Keith’s side and let him talk. Lance would always be Keith’s best friend, and for that Keith would never be able to pay him back. His friendship meant more to Keith that anybody knew. _

_ \--- _

Keith was scheduled to leave in 3 hours and he was quickly packing the things he would need, before he went to say goodbye to his friends for 2 weeks. Out of habit, he quickly threw his sketchpad and a few pencils in his bag, before running out the door. They were all meeting at the coffee shop around the corner and as Keith darted through the artificially lit ‘streets’ he caught sight of Allura’s stark white hair. 

“Allura!” He called a large smile on his face.

“Keith, perfect timing!” She responded the pink marks on here cheeks rising up as she flashed him a kind smile. 

They walked in together, mindless chatter flowing easily between the two of them. They switched between Altean and English easily, Keith having quickly picked it up after spending a few months with Coran and Allura. 

“You’re getting really very good with Altean, Keith!” Allura complimented.

“Thanks, I’ve uhh… always been rather good at picking up languages so I don’t see why any Alien languages would be different” Keith said attempting to dodge the compliment. 

“I remember you mentioning that to Pidge I think, you know upwards of 10 earth languages, let alone all of the new languages you’ve come in contact with here.  That's amazing! You know Alteans have always been very adept at picking up languages, it’s probably why you’re so quick to learn.”

Keith just smiled and looked away. He had a very diverse experience growing up, and he often found himself  in various local family owned restaurants working odd jobs here and there. He tended to jump between different places owned by different people who all came from different places. Learning their language made his job easier and he often found that they appreciated his efforts to communicate with them in their first language. It often meant that he got to keep his job longer, which meant he had food on his table on a more consistent basis. 

Once in the Coffee shop all of their friends jumped up to greet them with quick hugs and the small talk commenced as they waited for Shiro to come and collect Keith. The conversation flowed freely as everyone talked about their day. Pidge and Matt were getting closer to some technological breakthrough, Lance was promoted to supervisor at the coffee shop (and he thought he was well on his way to being owner one day, the current one had taken a liking to him and was growing old). Hunk was excited to be working on a new ship that Keith couldn’t wait to get his hands on and Allura and Coran were having good luck with their efforts to be more involved in the politics between the Alteans and the humans. 

When Shiro walked in Keith got caught up in absorbing how Shiro had changed while he was away. It was only three weeks but his hair had grown a bit longer and his shoulders were stiff, the bags under his eyes were darker than they had been when he left, but his eyes were still the same. They still lit up in front of his friends, when faced with those who loved him. Seeing how tired Shiro was made Keith want to wrap him up to let him sleep and cancel their excursion, but he couldn’t so Keith vowed to make sure that Shiro slept while they were planetside. 

After that it was a blur of laughter and commentary as they regaled each other with stories of their weeks. Their coffee got cold as they all became so wrapped up in what was being discussed. 

\---

When everyone had finished their coffee and had said their farewells Keith and Shiro were walking towards the hangar, bags in tow and small bittersweet smiles on their faces. They wouldn’t be alone like they had been on other trips, having each other was a luxury, but leaving their friends behind was always hard. 

“Keith, are you ready?” Shiro asked as if sensing the sadness that hung over Keith. The trip wouldn’t take longer than a week if everything went to plan and Keith wanted to be back at the colony, back with his family, as soon as he could. 

“Yeah Shiro, I’m ready” Keith set his shoulders and shook off the sadness, he was ready. 

They loaded into their ship in silence and Keith slid into the pilot's seat, Shiro long having accepted that Keith was the best pilot he had ever met. The journey to what was left of their home planet was a short few hours and pretty soon they were navigating where to land. 

“There, Keith.” Shiro directed him towards a clear patch. 

“Yes, sir.” Keith said with a grin playing over his features. 

When they had landed and put their suits on, double checking their helmets and ensuring the supplies they needed were with them. They walked out of the ship, shoulders brushing and a comfortable silence around them. 

The area they were scouting was rough and littered with ruin and scrap, but they had to test the stability of buildings and make sure the ground wasn’t going to cave in. The goal was to prevent what had happened to Keith and Shiro from happening to others. Shiro had also lost a limb, his arm, while working in a structurally compromised building, but Shiro came from a wealthy family and was able to afford the best Galra tech. 

\---

The first couple of days everything went smoothly and they were able to clear buildings for scavenging. Keith was able to ignore the twitch in his hands, and pushed down the urge to draw Shiro. Which was a feat because Keith would bet on his good leg that nothing would ever be as beautiful as Shiro cast in the hazy sunlight that weakly pushed its way through the smog and layers of ash that covered the whole planet. But being in such close quarters with Shiro was torture and Keith was finding himself unable to look away when he smiled or laughed. Shiro, for his part, seemed unaware but he wasn’t dense and would quickly catch on if Keith didn’t get himself under control soon. 

The 5th day Keith noticed that Shiro was looking exhausted and beat down. They hadn’t been getting much sleep since they landed, and if they did it was only a few hours at a time. So Keith decided it was time for an intervention. 

Shiro was sitting on the bed looking over the information on the tablet detailing the next areas they were to check out. The hard lines of his shoulders were tense and the exhaustion was weighing heavily on his neck. Keith walked up and placed his hands on Shiro’s, removing the tablet and placing it on the bed next to him. 

“Shiro you need to sleep” he said sitting besides him and moving his hand to rest on Shiro’s shoulder.

“I can handle today, it’s only one building. I got this.” Keith rushed before Shiro could argue. 

In a testament to just how tired Shiro actually was, he didn’t push it just turned the tablet off and put it away, before falling backwards on the pillow and promptly passing the fuck out. Keith smiled fondly and ran his fingers through the white tuft on the crown of Shiro’s head, before turning around and going to get ready. He just missed the soft smiled that played across Shiro’s face. 

\---

The building Keith was to be inspecting, was on the other side of the uncleared area, a good distance from the ship. On his walk there he had time to think things over. He thought about his friends back on the colony and how he couldn’t wait to tell them about everything. He had a sinking feeling that he needed to have a conversation with Lance again, he could finally admit to himself that he had feelings for Shiro. He could no longer ignore them and shove them down, but that didn’t mean he was going to act on them. No. He was going to talk to Lance and get advice for how to be less obvious, Keith didn’t want a relationship. He was content with the random hook ups he’d sometimes get when a traveler came through, they never commented on his soulmark and if they had one he never commented on theirs. He thought back on how both his steady hook ups who always remained on the colony had found their soulmates, in each other. He was happy for Rolo and Nyma, but he missed the sex. (They had told him that he could join them anytime and he had a few times, but it felt weird sleeping with them knowing they were matched with each other.) His mind continued to wander and before he knew it he was at his destination.

It was an easy job he just had to scan the building to test it’s stability and then he had to go in and check to see if the scan was accurate, then explore it to see if it was a building that could be scavenged or if it had been stripped clean by those who got off the planet or never got off the planet and died there. The preliminary scan showed the building as stable and safe to enter, so in he went. The first few rooms were good, showed promise of being good for scavengers, when he got to the second floor he was distracted by his tablet, seeing as he was beginning to fill out the report, and wasn’t paying attention. When he opened the door to what would have been the master bathroom he stepped onto the rotted floor. The ground gave out beneath him and within a  few seconds the entire bedroom had collapsed and his legs and hips were buried under the rubble. The world went dark for what was probably a few minutes and when Keith woke up it only took him a moment to remember what had happened and for the adrenaline to kick in. The wood, shattered furniture and glass was all over him and the floor around him. It took some time but eventually he was able to get his good leg out and after he struggled for a bit more he managed to disconnect from his prosthetic. The prosthetic was mangled and twisted, not to mention that it was so buried Keith wouldn’t be able to get it out, even if it was salvageable. His tablet was completely destroyed so he had no way of getting in contact with Shiro. He had no choice but to slowly hobble his way back to the ship and hope that he remembered the way, otherwise he’d be waiting for hours. His face mask was cracked and utterly useless now, so he removed it. The air was gross and heavy in his lungs, the lack of oxygen was noticeable. Hopefully he’d make it back before the chemicals in the air affected him too badly, he’d lived through it once he could do it again. Hopefully. 

Keith pushed himself up and began to slowly wobble his way down the stairs. He went into the kitchen to see if he could find anything to use as a makeshift crutch knowing no matter what that he wouldn’t be able to make it back on just one leg.  There wasn’t much but he was able to get a few pieces of wood tied together with some string he found lying around, it wasn’t the best but it would serve its purpose. Placing his weight onto the ‘crutch’, Keith began making his way through the house. Regret pooled in his stomach at leaving his leg behind, he definitely didn’t have enough money to buy a new prosthetic, but for right now he was working on pushing through the pain he felt in his ribs, his shoulders, his back, his head. The adrenaline from the fall was wearing off and everything hurt, but he had to get back to Shiro. 

After what felt like 7 hours of walking Keith was only half way back and he had taken the time to catalog his injuries. He definitely had bruised if not cracked some of his ribs, maybe broke his collarbone, and he was bleeding out of a gash on his head and a gash on his chest. That mixed with with his other mess of bruises and aches made for one painstaking trek back to the ship, and he still had a while to go. The air quality wasn’t helping either. The pain was mind numbing and he soon only found himself able to focus on getting back to Shiro, some primal part of him was only focused on the safety that came with the ship and Keith found himself unable to argue. 

The rest of his trek was a blur of pain and exhaustion, the crutch could only do so much and his lungs were screaming at him. When he finally reached the ship he was barely able to hobble up the top of the ramp leading to the door. When he managed to slam his hand down on the scanner and opened the door, he all but fell to floor. He managed to get out of the way of the door and drop the crutch before collapsing. The air inside the cabin was so clean that the first couple of breathes that Keith took burned his lungs, but it helped with the headache he had had since he woke up after his fall. The clatter woke up Shiro and as he slowly came back to reality, he realized that Keith was laying on the ground. 

“Keith! Are you ok?!” Shiro yelled as he quickly slid over to the body on the ground, panic racing through his veins. 

“Shiro,” Keith mumbled trying to push himself up, his arms buckled and his collarbone sent hot sparks of pain until Keith fell back, luckily Shiro’s arms were there to catch him before he hit the ground again. 

“Hang in there buddy, let me help you” Shiro quickly wrapped his arm around Keiths waist, hefted him up and helped him hobble over to the bed. 

“What hurts?”

“I think I cracked a few ribs, maybe broke my collarbone, and I have a nasty gash on my chest and head, there might also be glass in my hands” Keith said trying to feel around for any other serious injuries. 

“Ok I’m gonna grab the first aid kit” Shiro rushed to grab it and some water for Keith to guzzle down. 

“What happened?” He asked as he began to clear the wound on Keith’s head first.

“The building scanned as clear but when I walked into the master bedroom I fell through the floor and it was so unstable that the rest of the room fell with it. My prosthetic got trapped in the rubble and was so twisted and bent that it wouldn’t have been worth saving” Keith explained hissing slightly when Shiro pressed a bit hard on the injury on his head.

Shiro next began to pick the glass out of his hands with a pair of tweezers. He had to dig around in some of the gashes. At one point Shiro had to really dig in and Keith whimpered, causing Shiro to wince.

“Sorry I’m done with that, lift your shirt a bit so I can see about your ribs.” 

Keith grabbed his shirt and just sliced it open with his knife, not caring that his soulmark would be visible once they got the blood cleaned up. The shirt was a lost cause anyways, shredded and covered in his own blood. Shiro reached down and began running his hands over Keith’s sore ribs. Keith had to bite his lip to stop from thinking about how he wanted Shiro’s hands on his in a different context. 

“So I can’t be sure but I think your ribs are probably just bruised, I’m going to get something to clean up this blood and to help with the pain, I’ll be right back.” As Shiro walked away Keith was lost in thought, thinking about the fact that he was going to be forced to spend all his savings on a new prosthetic, probably something worse than his old one. 

“I set the ship on autopilot, we should be back to the colony in under an hour.” Shiro called from the front of the ship. 

Shiro came back and began wiping away the blood, when he reached the area of Keiths soulmark he hesitated. Everyone was pretty sure that his mark was right above his heart, based on the fact that he always rubbed at it when he anxious. Everyone also knew that soulmates and soulmarks were a touchy subject for Keith in general, although only Lance and maybe Pidge knew why and Pidge probably only knew because they were ridiculously smart and intuitive.  Shiro only proceeded when Keith gave him the go ahead, what he found made him stop in his tracks. Shiro felt his heart come to a complete stop before it sped up to the point where he was concerned that he was having a panic attack. Keith’s mark was the same as his, the same as the mark the Shiro kept covered by his shirt, the same mark that sat on the back of Shiro’s shoulder over his heart. It was the solar system, all the planets scattered around the sun in the center, on the outskirts a few random stars. It looked beautiful and elegant on Keith, a work of art amongst the spattering of freckles decorating Keith’s chest and shoulders. 

“Keith…” he trailed off unsure of how to proceed. He decided that actions spoke louder than words and quickly rose to take off his shirt. When the shirt had been dropped unceremoniously to the floor he turned around. The next thing he know Keith had stood up  and was lightly ghosting his fingers over the mark, making shivers run up and down Shiro’s spine.  Dread pooled in Keith’s stomach, everything he didn’t want to happen just came true. His soulmate was standing in front of him, and Keith had never been more scared. And it’s just his luck that the one person in his life that he had sworn to never fall in love with was the one he was destined to spend his life with. 

“Fuck….no , no, no, no” Keith began to softly chant over and over, preceding to sound more and more in pain, more and more full of horror. Shiro quickly turned to see fear and disbelief plastered over Keith’s face. Shiro felt his heart sink into his stomach. 

“I-” Shiro started.

“Don’t, Shiro.” Keith said turning away. Shiro dropped the first aid supplies onto the bed besides Keith.

“Don’t what Keith? Tell you that you're my soulmate? Show emotion over the fact that I just found the one person who is supposed to compliment me?! Supposed to make my life whole?! Fuck Keith what do you want me to do?!” Shiro exclaimed growing more and more agitated as he went on.

“I DON’T KNOW OK SHIRO! I. Don’t. Fucking. Know. This isn’t even about you!” and that, that hurt. Shiro wanted to rub at his chest and attempt to alleviate some of the hurt that had started to accumulate there.

“What do you mean this isn’t about me?! This is about us, you and me. What gives you the right to make decisions like this about my life? Did you ever think that maybe I would want a say in this?” Shiro quickly grew tired of arguing and just grew tired. “Look Keith, I don’t know what your hang up is, but I am not going to sit here and be talked to like I’m some child who can’t make decisions for myself. Talk to me when you decide what it is you want, until then I… just don’t talk to me.” and with that he turned and locked himself in the pilot chamber.

Keith rubbed harshly at his eyes before covering his face and falling backwards onto the bed. He had royally fucked up and realized he had no idea what he was supposed to do next. He had never thought about what would happen if he met his soulmate, he never planned on meeting them. Never thought about their feelings. He was lost, as soon as they landed he was going to track down Lance and talk everything over. 

The rest of the flight back was spent with Keith and Shiro ignoring each other. It was uncomfortable and tense. When they landed Shiro went to give the report and Keith received medical attention, along with an actual crutch. As soon as he was cleared he hobbled to find Lance, knowing he would be getting off his shift soon. Lance walked out the shop and found Keith waiting for him outside. 

“Keith, what happened? When did you get back?” Lance rushed quickly giving Keith a look over. When Keith met his stare, there were tears swimming in his eyes.

“Lance, I fucked up so bad.” the tears began to roll down Keiths face and fall to the ground. 

“Let’s go back to my place, Hunk works late tonight.” Lance said, helping Keith back to his apartment. 

When they had settled on the couch Keith began to speak. 

“I know who my soulmate is,” the words sounded desolate and empty as came out of his mouth. 

“Keith…” Lance began but trailed off not knowing what to say.

“It’s Shiro.” 

“Fuck”

“It’s Shiro and I don’t know what to do because I was supposed to come back from this trip and talk to you about how to hide the fact that I’m basically already in love with him and and… fuck Lance. I made him feel like he didn’t have a choice, I told him that this wasn’t about him and it clearly fucking is because we’re destined to be with each other.  I screwed up so bad.What do I do?”

“Keith, I’ve known about your feelings for Shiro for a while now. Probably before you did. You aren’t exactly the most subtle person and you could barely keep your eyes off him, but I never thought that he’d be your soulmate. I…” he paused thinking about everything, “I probably should have known thought, he balances you out and you do that same for him. Shiro’s not exactly the most subtle person either, and he seems to always be looking when you’re not paying attention...and huh yeah now I can see it, you guys are perfect for each other.” 

“Lance, that’s not exactly helpful information now. I don’t want to be with him. I can’t be with him” Keith cried as he buried his face in his hands, shoulders shaking.

“Keith, I love you but this self-sacrificial bullshit is ridiculous. I know that you watched your Dad waste away to nothing and that it tore you apart. Life is short, Keith. You only have one soulmate, you only have one chance. Isn’t Shiro worth it? You’ve known him for years and you have always just clicked. He has to be worth it Keith.” Lance said, desperation laced in his voice. “I can’t watch you destroy yourself Keith, I can’t watch you destroy Shiro. Just think about this: Shiro is a chance at love and happiness, even if he dies you can’t let your fear control you. Keith you’re the bravest person I know.” Lance finished and with that he stood up and wrapped Keith in a quick hug, before leaving him to mull things over. 

Keith sat on the couch until Hunk got home, and he even stayed after. Lance had filled hunk in on what had happened and Hunk just gave Keith a pat on the back and let him be. When Keith had been sitting there for probably 3 hours thinking things over he finally came to a conclusion. 

“I love Shiro. Fuck...I need to see Shiro.” He mumbled.

“What was that?” Lance called from the kitchen, sticking his head out to see him. Hunk popped out from the bathroom.

“I- I need to see Shiro, I’ll talk to you guys later” Keith said grabbing his crutch and his jacket before rushing out the door as fast as he could without his leg.

The ‘run’ to get to Shiro’s place was filled with alternating waves of anxiety and certainty and by the time Keith was standing outside his door, his hand were shaking. When he raised one to knock on the door he had to tell himself to just do it and not think about it. After about 30 seconds the door opened to reveal Shiro in a pair of sweats. His hair was rumpled like he had been running his hands through it and his eyes were red rimmed as if he had been crying. Keith had never felt like more of an asshole and he would give anything if it meant he could rewind time and go back and never hurt Shiro.

“Shiro, we need to talk” Keith said desperately wanting to reach out and touch the light stubble that had grown in. 

“I think you made it very clear how you felt about me, we don’t have anything to talk about any more,” Shiro said his voice devoid of anything but exhaustion.

“Shiro, please,” the desperation Keith felt must have shown on his face because Shiro was opening the door wider and gesturing Keith in. Together they sat at the table, on opposite ends instead of next to each other like they usually did, 

“Shiro look, I’m so sorry for hurting you. I never planned on someone like you. I never wanted to meet my soulmate, had no desire to,” at this Shiro flinched and Keith felt a pang of regret but he knew he had to keep going. “I did everything to avoid finding my soulmate, I never took off my shirt in public or around friends, I never brought up soulmates or soulmarks. I was so afraid of finding them and then having them taken away from me. You know I don’t have any family left, but everyone just assumed I lost them all when Earth went to shit. Which is partially true, I lost my grandparents then but I had lost my parents years before that. My parents were soulmates, from what everyone told me they were so happy for many years and from what I remember that was true. But my Mom just one day left and never came back, to this day I don’t know what happened but I assume it had something to do with her alien background. Afterwards my Father was a mess, he began to drink heavily and one day he couldn’t take it anymore, he killed himself when I was a child. I was sent to live with my Grandparents. From that moment on I swore to myself that I never wanted a soulmate, never wanted to feel that pain that drove my father to kill himself, never wanted to inflict that pain on someone else.” Keith waited for Shiro to say something, giving him time to let everything Keith had just spilled sink in.

“Keith…” Shiro trailed off looking like he wanted to reach out, but wasn’t sure if he was allowed. “What you said was selfish and it really hurt me, 

“Shiro I’m so sorry that I didn’t give you a choice in this, but now I want you to know that Lance talked some sense into me and I want to accept you as my soulmate, if you’d let me. I never meant to take away your choice, but I’m sorry that I did and I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you if that’s what you want. I-I will respect it if you need some time to think things over and I’ll understand if you don’t want to accept me after the stunt I pulled.” Keith turned his face towards the ground towards the end not ever thinking that even the idea of being rejected by his soulmate would cause his chest to ache. If you had asked him a few weeks ago he would have said it would be ideal to have his soulmate reject him, now look at him grovelling for his soulmates acceptance and forgiveness. 

Shiro stood up and walked towards Keith, yanking him up and shocking him by drawing him into a hug. He buried his face in Keith’s shoulder and Keith found himself pulled flush against Shiro’s chest. They stood there for a moment, neither commenting on the tears flowing freely down their faces. 

“Keith all I ever wanted was to meet my soulmate and I finally found you. I was so happy to find you and now that I can keep you I doubt I could let you go.” Shiro murmured into Keith’s neck, his hair tickling Keith’s jaw. Keith let out a sob and began to shudder tightening his arms around Shiro. 

When their tears had subsided and Keith had apologized a dozen more times, they pulled back slightly and rested their foreheads together. Keith was the first to lean in and Shiro met him halfway. The kiss started off soft and gentle, the barely there pressure of their lips together, if prompted they wouldn’t be able to tell you who deepened the kiss. Suddenly there was a glide of tongue between lips and the next thing they knew Shiro was standing between Keith’s hips with Keith up on the table, both of their chests heaving, both with soft smiles playing over their features. 

\---

They had settled into being soulmates and all their friends had taken it in stride. Shiro and Keith were happy as could be, and they were often found with sappy smiles on their faces. Keith had been spending a lot of time in Shiro’s room and often spent the night. Shiro had yet to see Keith’s bedroom though. 

Shiro approached Keith’s room and knocked before opening the door. Matt was passed out on the couch and Shiro dragged the blanket off the back and tossed it over him before moving on. The door was slightly ajar and Keith was also sleeping, sprawled out all over his bed with his hair a mess. A fond look fell over Shiro’s face and he walked forward prepared to join his soulmate before he noticed all the drawing everywhere. 

The walls were covered, in some places there looked like there were drawings layered over drawings. There were his friends, and people he assumed were family members, there were random strangers and those who were just passing through, but there were mainly drawings of Shiro. His eyes, his mouth, his profile, sometimes full body images, sometimes just half his face, but there were so many. His heart swelled and his eyes filled with tears, he quickly crawled into bed with Keith and wrapped his arms around his torso. Right above them was a picture that Keith had recently been working on, it was an image of them with their heads pressed together, their eyes gazing at the other, light blushes on their faces. Shiro fell asleep with a smile on his face. 

When the woke up Shiro dragged Keith towards a random building, the world's cheesiest smile present on his face. He was almost bouncing in place like a hyperactive child. He wanted to get there as soon as possible but Keith was still using a crutch to get around and Shiro would pick him up and carry him if he didn’t think that Keith would rather eat his crutch before letting that happen. 

“Shiro, babe, where are we going?” Keith questioned. Shiro filled with happiness at the endearment that fell so casually from his soulmates lips, he felt heat spread over his cheeks and ears. Keith was so enamored that he had to pause to get his heart under control, a fond smile gracing his sharp features. 

“It's a surprise” Shiro said looking away  knowing that if he stared any longer they would never make it to where they were going. 

The rest of their walk was spent in comfortable silence, and within 5 minutes they were there. The building was nondescript, no noticeable signs, the curtains were all closed. Shiro knocked on the door and a woman opened it, smiling when she noticed Shiro. 

“Shirogane, is this the boy you spoke of with so much affection?”

“Haggar it’s great to see you, this is my soulmate Keith.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Keith said smiling politely. 

“Likewise, come in come in, let me see what I can do for you.” 

When they walked in Keith realized that Shiro had brought him here to get a new prosthetic.

“Shiro, I can’t let you do this. I can’t let you pay for this.” 

“Keith, I don’t want you to feel like I’m doing this out of guilt or pity. I’m doing this because I care for you and I want to do this. I watched you struggle with your old prosthetic for years and I don’t want you to go through that again.” 

Adoration flooded every one of Keith’s nerves and he reached out to intertwine his fingers with Shiro’s. Haggar smiled knowingly and led Keith to a separate room and began taking measurements for Keith's prosthetic. The whole process was silent and Keith finally noticed that Haggar was Galra and...something else he couldn’t quite tell. Her features were mostly covered by a hood, so only the bottom half of her face was visible. 

“Keith Kogane...you’re the Galran Altean boy aren’t you?” Haggar questioned tilting her head to the side, examining him. 

Keith nodded.

“Well looks like we have something in common then, you should wear your glamor less. Being an ‘Alien’ isn’t a bad thing.” 

“Glamor?”

“Oh? Do you not know how to turn it off? Well never mind that now, come to me some other time and I’ll help you with. You’re prosthetic will be ready in 20 minutes why don’t you go wait with that soulmate of yours? I’m sure he’s waiting patiently for you.” 

“Thank you.” 

Out in the waiting room Shiro was sitting bouncing his knee up and down. When he noticed Keith walk out his face lit up and he stood quickly. 

“Well how was it?” He said as he wrapped his arms around Keith’s shoulders. 

“It was interesting, we have 20 minutes how bout a cup of coffee?” 

“Yeah sounds good.”

Together they walked to the nearest coffee shop and after getting their coffee they sat down. 

“Thank you for this Shiro, I can never repay you for everything you’ve done.” Keith started “While there Haggar gave me some news I didn’t expect. She told me that I’m wearing a glamor and that eventually I’ll be able to shed it and look more Galran or Altean, depending on which traits are more dominant.” 

“Keith that’s great! You know I won’t think of you as any different even if you turn purple right?” 

“I know babe, don’t worry I just thought it was something I should tell you so that one day I don’t come home purple and give you a heart attack.” 

Shiro just smiled and Keith knew that no matter what he’d always have Shiro no matter if he turned purple. 

The rest of the time was spent in comforting silence as they both nursed their drinks and shared smiles every once in awhile. When it was time to head back, Keith was filled with excitement and… love for Shiro. Which wasn’t a new feeling, Keith had been progressively falling in love since he met Shiro. The walk back was short, Keith was barely able to contain his excitement. He couldn’t wait to not use a crutch anymore, couldn’t wait to train with it and get to use it like an extension of his body again. 

When the leg port had been attached and the prosthetic put in place, Keith instantly felt like the leg was an actual limb. When he poked it, he could actually feel it. He flexed the leg, turning it in every direction he could, he curled the toes and rolled the ankle. It was so different in comparison to the old one he had, he applied pressure and felt the foot, his foot, pressing down on the floor. The awe must have been apparent on his face, because Haggar was smiling. 

“I don’t know what to say, this is amazing. Thank you so much, I-I how did you even do this?” Keith rushed, filled so much with gratitude and happiness he didn’t even know how to handle it. 

“There’s a bit of ancient magic mixed in to make it so the limb reacts and responds like a proper one, it’s something I’ve always been able to  do, now go he’s waiting.” 

Keith quickly wrapped her up in a hug she definitely wasn’t expecting, before rushing out to see Shiro. Shiro had chosen to wait outside and was looking up at all the buildings when Keith came running down the stairs and tackled him in a hug, his legs ( _ his legs! _ ) around Shiro’s waist. 

“Shiro! Thank you so much! I love you!” Keith said as he pressed kisses all over Shiro’s shocked face. The surprised look quickly melted into something much softer as he pulled Keith closer.

“I love you too baby. I’m so glad you like it.” Shiro and Keith had never told each other those three words, their happiness was almost palpable. From any onlookers point of view they were disgustingly adorable and so wrapped up in each other that the world could have ended again and they wouldn’t have noticed.

“Like it? Shiro I love it. And I love you, so much.” Keith said pulling Shiro in for a kiss. 

When they had leaned back and Keith was back on his feet, Shiro took Keith back to his room. There Shiro helped Keith with the proper care of his prosthetic. That night after they were both properly sated and tired, Keith murmured I love you over and over again, pressing it into every inch of Shiro. He said it so much that Shiro swore it was embedded in his bones, he felt warm and content. The soulmate bond humming in contentment. Even though Keith had started off fearing his soulmate, he now couldn’t picture his life without Shiro in it. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it!  
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated and feed back is always welcome!


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